Post, Emily (1872-1960), made a career out of good manners, and her name became a household word. Her book Etiquette tells people how to behave properly in all types of social situations. After its publication in 1922, Post became established as an authority on proper behavior. She emphasized that good manners are based on common sense and a regard for the feelings of others. She revised her book frequently to take into account changing social conditions and new patterns of social behavior.
Emily Price was born in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 27, 1872. The daughter of a wealthy architect, she was educated by private tutors at home and attended a private finishing school in New York City, New York. In 1892, she married Edwin Main Post, a banker from a prominent family. They had two sons. Emily Post turned to writing short stories and novels following her divorce from Edwin Post in 1905. Her book on etiquette was an immediate success when it was first published as Etiquette: the Blue Book of Social Usuage. In 1946, she founded the Emily Post Institute for the Study of Gracious Living.
Post’s first book, The Flight of the Moth (1904), was a fictional story of life among socially gracious people in the early 1900’s. Her other books include How to Behave Though a Debutante (1928), The Personality of a House (1930), Children Are People (1940), and Motor Manners (1950), a book on proper manners while driving in traffic. She also published a cookbook, The Emily Post Cookbook (1951); wrote newspaper columns on etiquette; and made radio broadcasts. Post died on Sept. 25, 1960.
